In New York, President Luis Abinader announced this Saturday that a special program of the Happy Family National Housing Plan will be launched in the coming months for the Dominican community abroad.
The president specified that he will give instructions to the Ministry of the Presidency to implement the measure, after explaining that the program will have special conditions and facilities will be sought, since this initiative is an example that can be taken to many more Dominicans abroad and, especially, to those who need it most.
"This program brings happiness, as its name indicates, to many Dominican families, and that is the goal of our government," the president stated, according to a press release.
President Abinader spoke during the handover of dozens of apartments to families from the Dominican community in the United States.
He explained that this is one of several programs the government is carrying out to benefit the population, such as the Dominicana se Reconstruye program, which has provided solutions to some 65,000 homes, and the Mi Vivienda program, which is projected to finish this year with more than 7,000 deliveries.
"More than double what any government had built," he stated, adding that with this Happy Family program, the government subsidizes the interest rate.
This handover of keys to housing solutions corresponds to the city of New York and is the first that the government has done outside of Dominican soil.
The homes of the Happy Family National Housing Plan are located in Boca Chica, Pedro Brand and Santo Domingo Oeste.
In addition, there are 60 applications awaiting assignment to a residential project, and they will be contacted to finalize the process in the coming days.
In the eleventh phase of the plan's projects, 37% of the beneficiaries are nuclear families, and 56% of the households are headed by women. Meanwhile, 88% of the Dominicans are first-generation members of the Dominican diaspora; 24% have lived outside their country for more than 20 years, and 40% emigrated between 11 and 20 years ago.
Likewise, 40% are acquiring housing to guarantee the stability of their family unit in the Dominican Republic, and 48% of applicants want to return to their homeland upon retirement to their own home.
These families maintain a strong economic and emotional connection to the Dominican Republic. Sixty percent of them send remittances to relatives, and 36% frequently visit the country, consume Dominican products, and participate in Dominican events from their place of residence.
The Dominican consul in New York, Eligio Jáquez, emphasized that President Abinader did not visit the Dominican embassy in New York, but rather initiated a service that is common in Dominican territory and that has been implemented for the benefit of the Dominican community abroad.
He stated that the purpose of President Abinader's government is to include all Dominicans in the collective well-being. "On behalf of the Dominican community, we thank the president because the keys to dozens of apartments will be handed over, and a program is beginning that will not end for now.".
The project
The housing units in the various projects have a construction area of 70 square meters. They also feature three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a living room, kitchen, dining room, and balcony, and offer a sense of community, comprised of dignified and secure housing, common recreational areas, and other amenities.
